HD 181 

I G5 

I 1870 
Copy 2 


■F—, 


FROM 







BY PURCHASE, BY LOCATION WITH WARRANTS OR AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 
SCRIP, BY PRE-EMPTION AN1) HOMESTEAD. 


ISSUED AUGUST 23, 1870. 



GOVERNMENT JtlNTUNTG OFFICE. 

1870. 
































































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CIECULAR 

FROM THE 

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, 

SHOWING 

THE MANNER OF PROCEEDING 
TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS 

BY PURCBASE, BY LOCATION WITH WARRANTS OR AGRICULTURAL 
COLLEGE SCRIP, BY PRE-EMPTION AND HOMESTEAD. 

ISSUED AUGUST 23, 1870. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1870., 


2 . 
















31 1908 

orD* 









C T R CTJLAR. 


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 
General Land Office, 
Washington , D. C., August 23, 1870. 

The following is communicated in reference to the manner of acquir¬ 
ing title to the public lands under different laws of Congress: 

There are two classes of public lands, the one class at $1 25 per acre, 
which is designated as minimum , and the other at $2 50 per acre, or 
double minimum. 

Title may be acquired by purchase at public sale, or by ordinary 
“ private entry,” and in virtue of the Pre-emption and Homestead laws. 

1. At public sale where lands are “offered” at public auction to the 
highest bidder, either pursuant to Proclamation by the President, or 
public notice given in accordance with directions from the General Land 

• Office. 

BY “ PRIVATE ENTRY ” OR LOCATION. 

2. The lands of this class liable to disposal are those which have been 
offered at public sale, and thereafter remain unsold, and which have not 
been subsequently reserved or otherwise withdrawn from market. In 
this class of offered and unreserved public lands the following steps may 
be taken to acquire title: 

CASH PURCHASES. 

3. The applicant must present a written application to the Register 
for the District in which the land desired is situated, describing the 
tract he wishes to purchase, giving its area. Thereupon the Register, 
if the tract is vacant, will so certify to the Receiver, stating the price, 
and the applicant must then pay the amount of the purchase money. 

The Receiver will then issue to the purchaser a duplicate receipt, and 
at the close of the month the Register and Receiver will make returns 
of the sale to the General Land Office from whence, when the proceed¬ 
ings are found regular, a patent or complete title will be issued; and on 
surrender of the duplicate receipt such patent will be delivered, at the 
option of the patentee, either by the Commissioner at Washington, or by 
the Register at the District Land Office. 





4 MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


LOCATIONS WITH WARRANTS. 

4. Application must be made as in cash cases, but must be accompa¬ 
nied by a warrant duly assigned as the consideration for the land; yet 
where the tract is $2 50 per acre, the party, in addition to the surren¬ 
dered warrant, must pay in cash $1 25 per acre, as the warrant is in 
satisfaction of only so many acres at $1 25 per acre as are contained in 
the tract located. 

A duplicate certificate of location will then be furnished the party, to 
be held until the patent is delivered, as in cases of cash sales. 

The following fees are chargeable by the land officers, and the several 
amounts must be paid at the time of location : 

For a 40-acre warrant, 50 cents each to the Register and Receiver—Total, $ 1 00 


For a 60-acre 

warrant, 75 cents 

it 

it 

u 

u 

u 

$1 50 

For an 80-acre 

warrant, $1 00 

U 

u 

u 

it 

a 

$2 00 

For a 120-acre 

warrant, $1 50 

ti 

u 

u 

it 

u 

$3 00 

For a 160-acre 

warrant, $2 00 

a 

u 

u 

(C 

u 

$4 00 


AGRICULTURAL 

COLLEGE SCRIP. 





5. This scrip may be used— 

First. In the location of lands at “ private entry f but when so used 
is only applicable to lands not mineral which may be subject to private 
entry at $1 25 per acre, yet is restricted to a technical “ quarter section /” 
that is, lands embraced by the quarter section lines indicated on the 
official plats of survey, or it may be located on'a part of a “quarter 
section,” where such part is taken as in full for a quarter, but it cannot 
be applied to different subdivisions to make an area equivalent to a quar¬ 
ter section. The manner of proceeding to acquire title with this class of 
paper is the same as in cash and warrant cases, the fees to be paid being 
the same as on warrants. The location of this scrip at private entry is 
restricted to three sections in each township of land. 

Second. In payment of Pre-emption claims in the same manner and 
under the same rules and regulations as govern the application to Pre¬ 
emptions of military land warrants ; this too without regard to the limit¬ 
ation as to the quantity located in a township or in any one State. 

PRE-EMPTIONS ADMISSIBLE TO THE EXTENT OF ONE QUARTER SECTION, OR 
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY ACRES. 

6. These may be made under the general Pre-emption laws of 4th 
September, 1841, U. S. Statutes, vol. 5, page 455, and 3d March, 1843, 
vol. 5, page 619, as extended by Act of June 2d, 1862, vol. 12, page 413, 
upon “ offered” and “ unoffered” lands and upon any of the unsurveyed 
lands belonging to the United States to which the Indian title is extin- 








TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 


guished, although in the case of unsurveyed lands no definite proceedings 
can be had as to the completion of the title, until after the surveys shall 
have been extended and are officially returned to the District Land Office. 

7. The Act of 3d March, 1853, U. S. Statutes, vol. 10, page 244, ex¬ 
tends the Pre-emption for one-quarter, or 160 acres, at $2 50 per acre to 
every “ alternate ” United States or reserved section along the line of 
railroads. 

8. The Act of 27th March, 1854, vol. 10, page 269, chap. XXV, 
protects the right of settlers on sections along the line of railroads where 
settlement existed prior to withdrawal, and in such cases allows the tract 
to be taken by Pre-emptors at $1 25 per acre. Copies of these laws, 
marked A, B, C, and D, will be found herewith. 

9. Where the tract is “ offered” land the party must file with the 
District Land Office his Declaratory Statement as to the fact of his set¬ 
tlement within thirty days from the date of said settlement, and within 
one year from that date must appear before the Register and Receiver 
and make proof of his actual residence on, and cultivation of, the tract, 
and secure the same by paying cash, or by filing warrant or agricultural 
college scrip duly assigned to the Pre-emptor. 

10. Where the tract has been surveyed and not offered at public sale, 
the claimant must file his Declaratory Statement within three months 
from date of settlement, and make proof and payment within eighteen 
months after the expiration of the three months allowed for filing his 
Declaratory Notice; or in other words within twenty-one months from 
date of settlement. 

11. Should the settler in either of the aforesaid cases die before estab¬ 
lishing his claim within the period limited by law, the title may be per¬ 
fected by the executor, administrator, or one of the heirs, by making the 
requisite proof of settlement and paying for the land; the entry to be 
made in the name of “ the heirs ” of the deceased settler, and the patent 
will be issued accordingly. 

12. Where settlements are made on xtnsurveyed lands settlers are 
required, within three months after date of receipt at the District Land 
Office, of the approved plat of the township embracing tlieir claims, to file 
their Declaratory Statement with the Register of the propier land office, 
and thereafter to make proof and payment for the tract within eighteen 
months from the expiration of said three months. 

Where settlers claim Pre-emption rights under the aforesaid special 
act of March 27, 1854, U. S. Statutes, vol. 10, page 269, they are now 
required to file Declaratory Statements, and make proof and payment in 
like manner as other Pre-emptors. 

The act of March 3, 1843, prohibits a second filing of a Declaratory 







6 MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


Statement by any Pre-emtor qualified at the date of his first filing where 
said filing has been in all respects legal. Where the first filing, however, 
is illegal from any cause, he has the right to make a second and legal filing. 

LAWS EXTENDING THE HOMESTEAD PRIVILEGE. 

13. The original Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, gives to every 
citizen, and to those who had declared their intentions to become such, 
the right to a homestead on surveyed lands. This is conceded to the 
extent of one quarter section, or 160 acres at $1 25 per acre, or 80 acres 
of double minimum in any organized district embracing surveyed public 
lands. 

14. To obtain Homesteads the party must; in connection with his appli¬ 
cation, make an affidavit before the Register or Receiver that he is over 
the age of twenty-one, or the head of a family; that he is a citizen of the 
United States, or has declared his intention to become such, and that 
the entry is made for his exclusive use and benefit and for actual settle¬ 
ment and cultivation. 

15. Where the applicant has made actual settlement on the land he 
desires to enter, but is prevented by reason of bodily infirmity, distance, 
or other good cause, from personal attendance at the District Land Office, 
the affidavit may be made before the clerk of the court for the county 
within which the land is situated. 

16. The amendatory Act of 21st March, 1864, U. S. Statutes, vol. 13, 
page 35, relaxes the requirements of personal attendance at the District 
Office to persons in the military or naval service, where the party's family, 
or some member, is residing on the land that it is desired to enter, and 
upon which a bona fide improvement and cultivation had been made. 
In such cases the said act of 1864 allows the beneficiary to make the 
affidavit before the officer commanding in the branch of service in which 
he may be engaged, and the same may be filed, by the' wife or other 
representative of the absentee, with the Register, together with the Home¬ 
stead Application. 

His claim in that case will become effective from the date of filing, 
provided the required fee and commissions accompany the same; but 
immediately upon his discharge he must enter upon the land and make 
it his bona fide home, as required by the original act of 20th May, 1862. 
The 25th section of the Act 15th of July, 1870, so far modifies the original 
Homestead Act as to allow officers, soldiers, and sailors who have served in 
the army or navy of the United States for ninety days, and remained 
loyal to the government, to enter 160 acres instead of 80 acres of double 
minimum lands. In all other respects the requirements of the original 
and amendatory acts remain in force, actual settlement and cultivation 








TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 7 


being in no case dispensed with . Special affidavits are required in sucli 
cases. Congress has also enacted that any alien of the age of 21 years 
and upward who has entered or shall enlist in the armies of the United 
States, and be honorably discharged therefrom, shall not be required to 
make any declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States, 
and may upon his petition and on proof of honorable military service be 
admitted to full citizenship, after not less than one year’s residence in 
the United States. 

17. For Homestead entries on surveyed lands in Michigan, Wisconsin, 
Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Dakota, Alabama, 
Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, fees are to be paid ac¬ 
cording to the following table: 


Acres. 

Price per 
Acre. 

Commissions. 

Fees. 

Total Fees and 
Commissions. 

Payable when 
entry is made. 

Payable when 
certificate issues. 

Payable when 
entry is made. 

160 

$1 25 

$4 00 

$4 00 

$10 00 

$18 00 

80 

1 25 

2 00 

2 00 

5 00 

9 00 

40 

1 25 

1 00 

1 00 

5 00 

7 00 

80 

2 50 

4 00 

4 00 

10 00 

18 00 

40 

2 50 

2 00 

2 00 

5 00 

9 00 


Note.—W here entries are made on $2 50 lands by officers, soldiers, and sailors, under the 
act of 15th July, 1870, double the amount of the above rates must of course be paid; that is, 
for 160 acres of $2 50, $8 00 at date of entry, and $8 00 upon proving up. 


These rates will also apply to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, if any vacant 
tracts can be found liable to Homestead in those three States, where but 
very few isolated tracts of public land remain undisposed of. 

18 . In the Pacific and other political divisions, viz : On surveyed 
lands in California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, and 
Washington, and in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, 
the commissions and fees are to be paid according to the following table: 


Acres. 

Price per 
Acre. 

Commissions. 

Fees. 

Total Fees and 
Commissions. 

Payable when 
entry is made. 

Payable when 
certificate issues. 

Payable when 
entry is made. 

160 

$1 25 

$6 00 

$6 00 

$10 00 

$22 00 

80 

1 25 

3 00 

3 00 

.5 00 

11 00 

40 

1 25 

1 50 

1 50 

5 00 

8 00 

80 

2 50 

6 00 

6 00 

10 00 

22 00 

40 

2 50 

3 00 

3 00 

5 00 

11 00 


The note to the table under the 17th head applies also to this table of rates. 





































8 MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


19. By the Act 21st June, 1866, U. S. Statutes, vol. 14, page 66, the 
public lands of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida 
are subject to disposal only under the provisions of the Homestead laws. 

20. TJpon payment of the fee and commissions in accordance with the 
table under the 17th head, the Receiver will issue his receipt therefor 
and furnish a duplicate to the claimant. 

The matter will then be entered on their records and reported to the 
General Land Office. 

21^ An inceptive right is vested in the settler by such proceedings, 
and upon faithful observance of the law in regard to settlement and culti¬ 
vation for the continuous term of five years, and at the expiration of that 
time, or within two years thereafter, upon proper proof to the satisfaction 
of the Land Officers, and payment to the Receiver, the Register will issue 
his certificate, and make proper returns to this office as the basis of a 
patent or complete title for the Homestead. 

Note. —The law is specific in requiring final proof to be made within two years after the 
expiration of the five years. 

In making final proof, it is indispensible, under the statute, that the 
Homestead party, shall appear in person at the District Land Office, and 
there make the affidavit required of him by law in support of his claim. 
Where from physical disability, distance, or other good cause, the witnesses 
of said party cannot attend in person at the District Office, their testi¬ 
mony in support of the claim may be taken where they reside, before an 
officer authorized by law to administer oaths. 

Their testimony must state satisfactorily the reason of their inability 
to attend at the District Office; and the credibility and responsibility of 
the witnessess must be certified by the officiating magistrate, whose 
official character must be authenticated under seal. 

The corroborating testimony thus prepared must be deposited with the 
Register and Receiver and filed with the affidavit of the Homestead 
party, and the decision of the Register and Receiver endorsed thereon as 
preliminary to the transmission of the same to the General Land Office. 

22. Where a Homestead settler dies before the consummation of his 
claim, the widow, or in case of her death the heirs, may continue the set¬ 
tlement and cultivation, and obtain title upon requisite proof at the proper 
time. If the widow proves up the title passes to her ; if she dies before 
proving up and the heirs make the proof, the title will vest in th§m. 

Where both parents die leaving infant heirs, the Homestead may be 
sold for cash for the benefit of such heirs, and the purchaser will receive 
title from the United States. 

23. The sale of a Homestead claim by the settler to another party 
before completion of title is not recognized by this office, and not only 






TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 9 


vests no title or equities in the purchaser, but would be prima facie evi¬ 
dence of abandonment, and might give cause for cancellation of the 
claim. 

A party may relinquish his claim, but only to the Government; and 
in such cases should surrender his 'duplicate receipt, with a relinquish¬ 
ment endorsed thereon, or if the duplicate has been lost, that fact should 
be stated in the relinquishment, duly signed and acknowledged. 

Where application is made for the cancellation of a Homestead entry 
on the ground of abandonment, the party must file his affidavit with the 
District Land Officers, setting forth the facts on which his allegations are 
founded, describing the tract and giving the name of the settler. Upon 
this the officers will set apart a day for hearing, giving all the parties in 
interest due notice of the time and place of trial. 

After the trial the land officers w T ill transmit the testimony, with their 
joint report, for the action of this office. 

The expenses incident to such contest must be defrayed by the con¬ 
testant, and no entry of the land can be made until the district officers 
have received notice from this office of the cancellation of the entry 
covering the same; nor does an informant obtain any privileges thereby. 
Such person must, if he desires the land, by proper diligence ascertain 
when notice of cancellation is received by Register and Receiver, and 
then make formal written application for the tract; the land, after recep¬ 
tion by said officers of notice of cancellation, being always open to the 
first legal applicant , unless otherwise withdrawn from entry for any 
purpose. 

24. As the law allows but one Homestead privilege, a settler relin¬ 
quishing or abandoning his claim cannot thereafter make a second entry. 
But in case of the illegality of his entry he may make a second claim. 

Where an individual has made settlement on a surveyed tract and filed 
his Pre-emption declaration therefor, he may change his filing into Home¬ 
stead, yet such change is inadmissable where an adverse right has inter¬ 
vened, but in such cases the settler has the privilege of perfecting his 
title under the Pre-emption laws. 

25. If the Homestead settler does not wish to remain five years on his 
tract, the law permits him to pay for it with cash or warrants, upon 
making proof of settlement and cultivation for a period not less than six 
months from the date of entry to the time of payment. 

This proof of actual settlement and cultivation must be the affidavit of 
the party made before the district officers, corroborated by the testimony 
of two credible witnesses. 

26. There is another class of Homesteads designated as “ adjoining 
farm Homesteads.” In these cases the law allows an applicant owning 

2 











10 MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


and residing on an original farm, to enter other land lying contiguous 
thereto, which shall not, with such farm, exceed in the aggregate 160 
acres. Thus, for example, a party owning or occupying 80 acres , may 
enter 80 additional of $1 25, or 40 acres of $2 50 land. Or suppose the 
applicant to own 40 acres , then he may enter 120 acres at $1 25, or 40 
at $1 25 with 40 at $2 50, if both classes of land should be found con¬ 
tiguous to his original farm. 

In entries of “adjoining farms” the settler must describe, in his affi¬ 
davit, the tract he owns and is settled upon as his original farm. Actual 
residence on the tract entered as an adjoining farm is not required, but 
bona fide improvement and cultivation of it must be shown for the period 
required by the statute. 

27. The Homestead and Pre-emption privilege is conceded to Indians 
who have voluntarily dissolved all connection with their tribes and no 
longer share in the annuities, or in exemptions, or in privileges secured 
to them by Acts of Congress or treaty stipulations. Special forms of af¬ 
fidavit with corroborative testimony are required in these cases, forms of 
which are attached—Nos. 10 and 11. 

28. Lands obtained under the Homestead laws are exempted from 
liability for debts contracted prior to the issuing of patent therefor. 

Copies of the Homestead laws are hereto annexed, marked E, F, and 
G, as also forms of affidavits and applications, numbered from one to 
twelve, required upon initiation of claims under the Pre-emption and 
Homestead laws. 

REGISTERS* AND RECEIVERS* RETURNS. 

29. Within three days from the close of each month the District Land 
Officers are required to make out and transmit to the General Office a 
statement of the business of then* respective offices for the preceding 
month. 

These reports are in form of abstracts of declarations of settlements 
filed, abstracts of lands sold, abstracts of Homesteads entered, abstracts 
of military warrants and of agricultural college scrip located, accompanied 
by the certificates of purchase, Receiver’s receipts, Homestead applications 
and affidavits, warrants and agricultural college scrip, and certificates of 
location. 

The abstracts are all to be critically examined and thereafter duly 
certified by Register and Receiver as correct and in conformity with the 
records and the papers, and that all agree with each other. 

The Receiver is required also to render promptly a monthly account 
of all the moneys received , showing the balance due the Government at 
the close of each month. 






TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 11 


At the end of every quarter he also must transmit a quarterly account 
as Receiver; upon the several accounts an adjustment is here made and 
submitted to the Treasury Department for final settlement. 

He must also render a quarterly disbursing account of all moneys 
expended. 

The receiver is required to deposit the moneys received by him at 
some depository designated by the Secretary of the Treasury when the 
amount on hand shall have reached the sum of two thousand dollars ; 
and in no case is he authorized, without special instructions, to hold a 
larger amount in his hands. 

30. It is the duty of the Registers and Receivers to be in attendance 
at their offices, and give proper facilities and information to persons ap¬ 
plying for lands. 

31. A fist of all the District Land Offices in the United States is 
hereto annexed. 

32. Laws and instructions relating to mining claims form the subject 
of a separate circular. 

JOS. S. WILSON, 

Commissioner of the General Land Office. 





12 _ MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


(A.) 

AN ACT to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands and to grant pre-emption rights. « 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That, from and after the passage of this act, every 
person, being the head of a family, or widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years 
and being a citizen of the United States, or having filed his declaration of intention to become 
a citizen as required by the naturalization laws, who, since the first day of June, A. D. 
eighteen hundred and forty, has made, or shall hereafter make, a settlement in person on the 
public lands to which the Indian title had been, at the time of such settlement, extinguished, 
and which has been, or shall have been, surveyed prior thereto, and who shall inhabit and 
improve the same, and who has or shall erect a dwelling thereon, shall be, and is hereby, 
authorized to enter with the register of the land office for the district in which such land may 
lie, by legal subdivisions, any number of acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a 
quarter section of land, to include the residence of such claimant, upon paying to the United 
States the minimum price of such land, subject, however, to the following limitations and ex¬ 
ceptions : No person shall be entitled to more than one pre-emptive right by virtue of this act; 
no person who is the proprietor of three hundred and twenty acres of land in any State or 
Territory of the United States, and no person who shall quit or abandon his residence on his 
own land to reside on the public land in the same State or Territory, shall acquire any right 
of pre-emption under this act; no lands included in any reservation, by any treaty, law, or 
proclamation of the President of the United States, or reserved for salines, or for other pur¬ 
poses; no lands reserved for the support of- schools, nor the lands acquired by either of the 
two last treaties with the Miami tribe of Indians in the State of Indiana, or which may be ac¬ 
quired of the Wyandot tribe of Indians/ in the State of Ohio, or other Indian reservation to 
which the title has been or may be extinguished by the United States at any time during the 
operation of this act; no sections of land reserved to the United States alternate to other 
sections granted to any of the States for the construction of any canal, railroad, or other public 
improvement; no sections or fractions of sections included within the limits of any incorporated 
town; no portions of the public lands which have been selected as the site for a city or town; 
no parcel or lot of land actually settled and occupied for the purposes of trade and not agri¬ 
culture ; and no lands on which are situated any known salines or mines, shall be liable to 
entry under and by virtue of the provisions of this act. And so much of the proviso of the 
act of twenty-second of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, or any order of the President 
of the United States, as directs certain reservations to be made in favor of certain claims under 
the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, be, and the same is hereby repealed: Provided, That 
such repeal shall not affect any title to any tract of land secured in virtue of said treaty. 

Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That when two or more persons shall have settled on 
the same quarter section of land, the right of pre-emption shall be in him or her who made 
the first settlement, provided such persons shall conform to the other provisions of this act; and 
all questions as to the right of pre-emption arising between different settlers shall be settled by 
the register and receiver of the district within which the land is situated, subject to an appeal to 
and a revision by the ^Secretary of the Treasury [Interior] of the United States. 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That prior to any entries being made under and by 
virtue of the provisions of this act, proof of the settlement and improvement thereby required 
shall be made to the satisfaction of the register and receiver of the land district in which such 
lands may lie, agreeably to such rules as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
[Interior,] who shall each be entitled to receive fifty cents from each applicant for his services, 
to be rendered as aforesaid; and all assignments and transfers of the right hereby secured, 
prior to the issuing of the patent, shall be null and void. 


* Appellate power vested in Commissioner of the General Land Office. See 10th sec. act 12th June, 1858, 
(Statutes, yoI. 11, p. 326.) 







TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 13 


Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That before any person claiming the benefit of this act 
shall be allowed to enter such lands, he or she shall make oath before the receiver or register 
of the land district in which the land is situated (who are hereby authorized to administer the 
same) that he or she has never had the benefit of any right of pre-emption under this act; 
that he or she is not the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in any State or 
Territory of the United States, nor hath he or she settled upon and improved said land to sell 
the same on speculation, but in good faith to appropriate it to his or her own exclusive use or 
benefit; and that he or she has not. directly or indirectly, made any agreement or contract, in 
any way or manner, with any person or persons whatsoever, by which the title which he or 
she might acquire from the government of the United States should inure in whole or in part 
to the benefit of any person except himself or herself; and if any person taking such oath 
shall swear falsely in the premises, he or she shall be subject to all the pains and penalties of 
perjury, and shall forfeit the money which he or she may have paid for said land, and all 
right and title to the same; and any grant or conveyance which he or she may have made, 
except in the hands of bona fide purchasers, for a valuable consideration, shall be null and 
void. And it shall be the duty of the officer administering such oath to file a certificate 
thereof in the public land office of such district, and to transmit a duplicate copy to the Gen¬ 
eral Land Office; either of which shall be good and sufficient evidence that such oath was 
administered according to law. 

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That this act shall not delay the sale of any of the 
public lands of the United States beyond the time which has been, or may be, appointed by 
the proclamation of the President; nor shall the provisions of this act be available to any 
person or persons who shall fail to make the proof and payment, and file the affidavit required, 
before the day appointed for the commencement of the sales as aforesaid. 

Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That whenever any person has settled or shall settle 
and improve a tract of land subject at the time of settlement to private entry, and shall intend 
to purchase the same under the provisions of this act, such person shall, in the first case, 
within three months after the passage of the same, and in the last, within thirty days next 
after the date of such settlement, file with the register of the proper district a written state¬ 
ment describing the lands settled upon, and declaring the intention of such person to claim 
the same under the provisions of this act; and shall, where such settlement is already made, 
within twelve months after the passage of this act, and where it shall hereafter be made, 
wi thin the same period after the date of such settlement, make the proof, affidavit, and pay¬ 
ment herein required; and if he or she shall fail to file such written statement as aforesaid, 
or shall fail to make such affidavit, proof, and payment within the twelve months aforesaid, 
the tract of land so settled and improved shall be subject to the entry of any other purchaser. 

Approved September 4, 1841. 


(B.) 

AN ACT to authorize the investigation of alleged frauds under the pre-emption laws, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, That the Commissioner of the General Lafid Office be, and he hereby is, 
authorized to appoint a competent agent, whose duty it shall be, under direction of said 
Commissioner, to investigate, upon oath, the cases of fraud under the pre-emption laws 
alleged to exist in the Columbus land district, in the State of Mississippi, referred to in the 
late annual report of said Commissioner, communicated to Congress by letter of the Secretary 
of the Treasury dated December the fifteenth, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two; 
and that such agent shall examine all witnesses who may be brought before him by the 
individual or individuals alleging the fraud, as well as those witnesses who may be produced 
by the parties in interest to sustain said claims ; and that he be, and is hereby, invested with 
power to administer to such witnesses an oath to speak the truth in regard to any question 
which may be deemed necessary to the full examination of the cases so alleged to be fraudu¬ 
lent ; and such testimony shall be reduced to writing, and subscribed by each witness, and 
the same returned to the Commissioner, with the opinion of said agent on each claim; and 









14 MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


any witness so examined before the said agent, who shall swear willfully and falsely in 
regard to any matter or thing touching such examination, shall he subject, on conviction, to 
all the pains and penalties of perjury; and it shall he the duty of the Commissioner to decide 
the cases thus returned, and finally to settle the matter in controversy, subject alone to an 
appeal to the Secretary of the Treasury: Provided, That the power conferred by this section 
upon such agent is hereby limited to the term of one year from and after the date of this act; 
and the compensation to be paid to said agent shall not exceed three dollars per day for each 
day he may be necessarily engaged in the performance of the duties required by this section. 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That in any case where a party entitled to claim the ben¬ 
efits of any of the pre-emption lawB shall have died before consummating his claim by filing, 
in due time, all the papers essential to the establishment of the same, it shall be competent for 
the executor or administrator of the estate of such party, or one of the heirs, to file the neces¬ 
sary papers to complete the same: Provided, That the entry in such cases shall be made in 
favor of “ the heirs ” of the deceased pre-emptor, and a patent thereon shall cause the title to 
inure to said heirs as if their names had been specially mentioned. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That every settler on section sixteen, reserved for the use 
of schools, or on other reserves or land covered by private claims of others, which was not 
surveyed at the time of such settlement, and who shall otherwise come within the provisions 
of the several pre-emption laws in force at the time of the settlement, upon proof thereof before 
the register of the proper land office, shall be entitled to enter, at the minimum price, any 
other quarter section, or fractional section, or fractional quarter section, in the land district in 
which such school section or reserve or private claim may lie, so as not to exceed one hundred 
and sixty acres, not reserved from sale or in the occupancy of any actual bona fide settler: 
Provided, Such settlement was made before the date of the act of fourth September, eighteen 
hundred and forty-one, and after the extinguishment of the Indian title. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That where an individual has filed, under the late pre¬ 
emption law, his declaration of intention to claim the benefits of said law for one tract of land ; 
it shall not be lawful for the same individual at any future time to file a second declaration 
for another tract. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That claimants under the late pre-emption law, for land 
not yet proclaimed for sale, are required to make known their claims, in writing, to the reg¬ 
ister of the proper land office, within three months from the date of this act when the settle¬ 
ment has been already made, and within three months from the time of the settlement when 
such settlements shall hereafter be made, giving the designation of the tract and the time of 
settlement; otherwise his claim to be forfeited, and the tract awarded to the next settler, in 
the order of time, on the same tract of land, who shall have given such notice, and otherwise 
complied with the conditions of the law. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That whenever the vacancy of the office either of register 
or receiver, or of both, shall render it impossible for the claimant to comply with any requisi¬ 
tion of any of the pre-emption laws within the appointed time, such vacancy shall not operate 
to the detriment of the party claiming in respect to any matter essential to the establishment 
of his claim: Provided, That such requisition is complied with within the same period after 
the disability is removed as would have been allowed him had such disability not existed. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That where a settler on the public lands may reside on a 
quarter section, a fractional quarter section, or a fraction of a section less than one hundred 
and sixty acres, and cultivated land on any other and different tract of either of the descrip¬ 
tions aforesaid, he or she shall be entitled, under the act of June twenty-two, one thousand 
eight hundred and thirty-eight, to the same privileges of a choice between two legal subdi¬ 
visions of each, so as to include his or her house and farm, not to exceed one hundred and 
sixty acres in all, as is granted by the first section of that act to settlers residing on a quarter 
section, and cultivating on another and different quarter. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That where two or more persons are residing on any of 
the species of tracts specified in section seven of this act, as required by the acts of the twenty- 
second of June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and the first of June, one thou¬ 
sand eight hundred and forty, and any one or more of said settlers may have cultivated land 








TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 15 


during the period of residence required by either of said acts on another and different tract, 
or other and different tracts, the latter mentioned settlers shall he entitled to the option of 
entering the tract lived on, jointly ■with the other or others, or of abandoning the tract lived 
on to those who have not cultivated land as above required, and entering the tract or tracts 
cultivated, so as not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres to any one settler, who, by virtue 
of this section, is entitled to a separate entry; or such joint settlers may jointly enter the tract 
so jointly occupied by them, and, in addition, enter other contiguous unoccupied lands, by 
legal subdivisions, so as not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres in all to each of such joint 
settlers: Provided, That the extended privileges granted to pre-emptors by this act shall not 
be construed to deprive any other actual settler of his or her previous and paramount right 
of pre-emption, or to extend to lands reserved for any other purpose whatever. 

Seg. 9. And be it further enacted, That all persons coming within the tenth section of the 
act of the fourth of September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, entitled “An Act to appropri¬ 
ate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands and to grant pre-emption rights,” shall be 
entitled to the right of pre-emption under its provisions, notwithstanding such persons claim¬ 
ing the pre-emption shall have settled upon and improved the lands claimed before the same 
were surveyed: Provided, Such settlements were made before the date of the aforesaid act, 
and after the extinguishment of the Indian title. And said act shall not be so construed as to 
preclude any person who may have filed a notice of intention to claim any tract of land by 
pre-emption, under said act, from the right allowed by law to others to purchase the same by 
private entry after the expiration of the right of pre-emption. 

Approved March 3, 1843. 


(C.) 

AN ACT to extend pre-emption rights to certain lands therein mentioned. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, That the pre-emption laws of the United States, as they now exist, be, 
and they are hereby, extended over the alternate reserved sections of public lands along the 
lines of all the railroads in the United States, wherever public lands have been, or may be, 
granted by acts of Congress; and that it shall be the privilege of the persons residing on any 
of said reserved lands, to pay for the same in soldiers’ bounty land warrants, estimated at a 
dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, or in gold and silver, or both together, in preference to 
any other person, and at any time before the same shall be offered for sale at auction: Pro¬ 
vided, That no person shall be entitled to the benefit of this act who has not settled and im¬ 
proved, or shall not settle and improve, such lands prior to the final allotment of the alternate 
sections to such railroads by the General Land Office : And provided further, That the price 
to be paid shall, in all cases, be two dollars and fifty cents per acre, or such other minimum 
price as is now fixed by law, or may be fixed, upon lands hereafter granted; and no one person 
shall have the right of pre-emption to more than one hundred and sixty acres : And provided 
further, That any settler who has settled, or may hereafter settle, on lands heretofore reserved 
on- account of claims under French, Spanish, or other grants which have been, or shall be, 
hereafter declared by the Supreme Court of the United States to be invalid, shall be entitled 
to all the rights of pre-emption granted by this act and the act of fourth September, eighteen 
hundred and forty-one, entitled “ An Act to appropriate the proceeds of the public lands and 
to grant pre-emption rights,” after the lands shall have been released from reservation, in the 
same manner as if no reservation existed. 

Approved March 3, 1853. 


(D.) 


AN ACT for the relief of settlers on lands reserved for railroad purposes. 


Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, That every settler on public lands which have been, or may be, with- 










16 MANNER OF.PROCEEDING 


drawn from market in consequence of proposed railroads, and who had settled thereon prior to 
such withdrawal, shall he entitled to pre-emption, at the ordinary minimum, to the lands 
settled on and cultivated by them: Provided , They shall prove up their rights according to 
such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and pay for 
the same before the day that may be fixed by the President’s proclamation for the restoration 
of said lauds to market. 

Approved March 27, 1854. 


(E.) 

AN ACT to establish a land office in Colorado Territory, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, That all the lands belonging to the United States to which the Indian 
title has been or shall be extinguished, shall be subject to the operations of the pre-emption 
act of the 4th September, 1841, and under the conditions, restrictions, and stipulations therein 
mentioned: Provided however, That when unsurveyed lands are claimed by pre-emption, 
notice of the specific tracts claimed shall be filed within six months after the survey has been 
made in the field; and on failure to file such notice, or to pay for the tract claimed within 
twelve months from the filing of such notice, the parties claiming such lands shall forfeit all 
right thereto, provided said notices may be filed with the Surveyor General, and to be noted 
by him on the township plats, until other arrangements have been made by law for that 
purpose. 

##**#*# 

Approved J une 2, 1862. 


(F.) 

AN ACT to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, That any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the 
age of twenty-one years and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his dec¬ 
laration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United 
States, and who has never borne arms against the United States government or given aid and 
comfort to its enemies, shall, from and after the first January, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
three, be entitled to enter one quarter section or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands, 
upon which said person may have filed a pre-emption claim, or which may, at the time the appli¬ 
cation is made, be subject to pre-emption at one dollar and twenty-five cents or less per acre ; or 
eighty acres or less of such unappropriated lands at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, to be 
located in a body, in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the 
same shall have been surveyed: Provided, That any person owning and residing on land 
may, under the provisions of this act, enter other land lying contiguous to his or her said land, 
which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate one 
hundred and sixty acres. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the person applying for the benefit of this act 
shall, upon application to the register of the land office in which he or she is about to make 
such entry, make affidavit before the said register or receiver that he or she is the head of a 
family, or is twenty-one or more years of age, or shall have performed service in the army or 
navy of the United States, and that he has never borne arms against the government of the 
United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies, and that such application is made for 
his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual set¬ 
tlement and cultivation, and not, either directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any 
other person or persons whomsoever; and upon filing the said affidavit with the register or 









TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 17 


receiver, and on payment of ten dollars, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the 
quantity of land specified: Provided however, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued 
therefor until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry; and if, at the expiration 
of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry—or, if 
he be dead, his widow; or, in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or, in case of a widow 
making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death—shall prove by two credible 
witnesses that he, she, or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five 
years immediately succeeding the time of filing the affidavit aforesaid, and shall make affida¬ 
vit that no part of said land has been alienated, and that he has borne true allegiance to the 
government of the United States; then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time a citizen 
of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by law: And 
provided further, That in case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child 
or children under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of said 
infant child or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian may, at any time 
within two years after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the laws of 
the State in which such children for the time being have their domicile, sell said land for the 
benefit of said infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute 
title by the purchase, and be entitled to a patent from the United States, on payment of the 
office fees and sum of money herein specified. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the register of the land office shall note all such 
applications on the tract books and plats of his office, and keep a register of all such entries, 
and make return thereof to the General Land Office, together with the proof upon which they 
have been founded. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That no lands acquired under the provisions of this act 
shall in any event become liable to the satisfaction of any debt or debts contracted prior to the 
issuing of the patent therefor. 

Sec. 5. And be it f urther enacted, That if, at any time after the filing of the affidavit, as 
required in the' second section of this act, and before the expiration of the five years aforesaid, 
it shall be proven, after due notice to the settler, to the satisfaction of the register of the land 
office, that the person having filed such affidavit shall have actually changed his or her resi¬ 
dence, or abandoned the said laud for more than six months at any time, then and in that 
event the land so entered shall revert to the government. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That no individual shall be permitted to acquire title to 
more than one quarter section under the provisions of this act; and that the Commissioner 
of the General Land Office is hereby required to prepare and issue such rules and regulations 
consistent with this act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry its provisions into effect; 
and that the registers and receivers of the several land offices shall be entitled to receive the 
same compensation for any lands entered under the provisions of this act that they are now 
entitled to receive when the same quantity of land is entered with money, one-half to be paid 
by the person making the application at the time of so doing, and the other half on the issue 
of the certificate by the person to whom it may be issued; but this shall not be construed to 
enlarge the maximum of compensation now prescribed by law for any register or receiver: 
Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as to impair or interfere 
in any manner whatever with existing pre-emption rights : And provided further, That all 
persons who may have filed their application for a pre-emption right prior to the passage of 
this act shall be entitled to all privileges of this act: Provided further, That no person who 
has served, or may hereafter serve, for a period of not less than fourteen days in the army or 
navy of the United States, either regular or volunteer, under the laws thereof, during the 
existence of an actual war, domestic or foreign, shall be deprived of the benefits of this act on 
account of not having attained the age of twenty-one years. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the fifth section of the act entitled “ An Act in addi¬ 
tion to an Act more effectually to provide for the punishment of certain crimes against the 
United States, and for other purposes,” approved the third of March, in the year eighteen 
hundred and fifty-seven, shall extend to all oaths, affirmations, and affidavits required or 
authorized by this act. 

3 















18 


MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to pre¬ 
vent any person who has availed him or herself of the benefits of the first section of this act 
from paying the minimum price, or the price to which the same may have graduated, for the 
quantity of land so entered at any time before.the expiration of the five years, and obtaining 
a patent therefor from the government, as in other cases provided by law, on making proof of 
settlement and cultivation as provided by existing laws granting pre-emption rights. 

Approved May 20, 1862. 


(G.) 


AN ACT amendatory of the Homestead law, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and Souse of Representatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, That in case of any person desirous of availing himself of the benefits of 
the homestead act of twentieth May, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, but who, by reason of 
actual service in the military or naval service of the United States, is unable to do the personal 
preliminary acts at the district land office which the said act of twentieth May, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty-two requires, and whose family, or some member thereof, is residing on the 
land which he desires to enter, and upon which a bona fide improvement and settlement have 
been made, it shall and may be lawful for such person to make the affidavit required by said 
act before the officer commanding in the branch of the service in which the party may be en¬ 
gaged, which affidavit shall be as binding in law, and with like penalties, as if taken before 
the register or receiver; and upon such affidavit being filed with the register by the wife, or 
other representative of the party, the same shall become effective from the date of such filing, 
provided the said application and affidavit are accompanied by the fee and commissions as 
required by law. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That, besides the ten-dollar fee exacted by the said act, 
the homestead applicant shall hereafter pay to the register and receiver each, as commissions, 
at the time of entry, one per centum upon the cash price as fixed by law of the land applied 
for, and like commissions when the claim is finally established and the certificate therefor 
issued as the basis of a patent. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That in any case hereafter in which the applicant for 
the benefit of the homestead, and whose family, or some member thereof, is residing on the 
land which he desires to enter, and upon which a bona fide improvement and settlement have 
been made, is prevented, by reason of distance, bodily infirmity, or other good cause, from 
personal attendance at the district land office, it shall and may be lawful for him to make the 
affidavit required by the original statute before the clerk of the court for the county in which 
the applicant is an actual resident, and to transmit the same, with the fee and commissions, 
to the register and receiver. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That in lieu of the fee allowed by the twelfth section of 
the pre-emption act of fourth of September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, the register and 
receiver shall each be entitled to one dollar for their services in acting upon pre-emption 
claims, and shall be allowed, jointly, at the rate of fifteen cents per hundred words, for the 
testimony which may be reduced by them to writing for claimants in establishing pre-emption 
or homestead rights; the regulations for giving proper effect to the provisions of this act to 
be prescribed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That where a pre-emptor has taken the initiatory steps 
required by existing laws in regard to actual settlement, and is called away from such settle¬ 
ment by being actually engaged in the military or naval service of the United States, and by 
reason of such absence is unable to appear at the district land office to make, before the regis¬ 
ter or recevier, the affidavits required by the thirteenth section of the pre-emption act of 
fourth of September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, the time for filing such affidavit and 
making final proof and entry of location shall be extended six months after the expiration of 


i 


4 

















TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 19 


his term of service, upon satisfactory proof, by affidavit or the testimony of witnesses, that 
the said pre-emptor is so in the service, being filed with the register of the land office for the 
district in which his settlement is made. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the registers and receivers in the State of Califor¬ 
nia, in the State of Oregon, and in the Territories of Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, 
New Mexico, and Arizona, shall be entitled to collect and receive, in addition to the fees and 
allowances provided by this act, fifty per centum of said fees and allowances as compensation 
for their services: Provided, That the salary and fees allowed any register or receiver shall 
not exceed in the aggregate the sum of three thousand dollars per annum. 

Approved March 21, 1864. 


(H.) 

AN ACT for the disposal of the public lands for homestead actual settlement in the States of Alabama, 
Mississippi, Louisianna, Arkansas, and Florida. 

Be it further enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the passage of this act, all the public 
lands in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, shall be dis¬ 
posed of according to the stipulations of the homestead law of twentieth May, eighteen hun¬ 
dred and sixty-two, entitled “An Act to secure homesteads to .actual settlers on the public 
domain,” and the act supplemental thereto, approved twenty-first of March, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-four, but with this restrction, that until the expiration of two years from and after 
the passage of this act, no entry shall be made for more than a half quarter section, or eighty 
acres; and in lieu of the sum of ten dollars required to be paid by the second section of said 
act, there shall be paid the sum of five dollars at the time of the issue of each patent; 
and that the public land in said States shall be disposed of in no other manner after the passage 
of this act: Provided, That no distinction or discrimination shall be made in the construction 
or execution of this act on account of race or color: And provided further, that no mineral 
lands shall be liable to entry and settlement under its provisions. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That section second of the above-cited homestead law, 
entitled “ An Act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain,” approved May 
twentieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, be so amended as to read as follows: That the 
person applying for the benefit of this act shall, upon application to the register of the land 
office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said register 
or receiver that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age, or 
shall have performed service in the army or navy of the United States, and that such appli¬ 
cation is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the 
purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, either directly or indirectly, for the use 
or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever; and upon filing the said affidavit with 
the register or receiver, and on payment of five dollars, when the entry is not more than 
eighty acres, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the amount of land specified: 
Provided however, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expira¬ 
tion of five years from the date of such entry; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at 
any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry, or, if he be dead, his 
widow, or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee, or, in case of a widow making such entry, 
her heirs or devisee, in case of her death, shall prove by two credible witnesses that he, she, 
or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately suc¬ 
ceeding the time of filing the affidavit aforesaid, and shall make affidavit that no part of said 
land has been alienated, and that he will bear true allegiance to the government of the United 
States; then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time a citizen of the United States, shall 
be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by law: And provided further, That in case 
of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child or children under twenty-one 
years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of said infant child or children; and 









20 MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


the executor, administrator, or guardian may, at any time within two years after the death of 
the surviving parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such children for 
the time being have their domicile, sell said land for the benefit of said infants, but for no 
other purpose, and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be en¬ 
titled to a patent from the United States on the payment of the office fees and sum of money 
herein specified: Provided, That until the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
seven, any person applying for the benefit of this act shall, in addition to the oath hereinbe¬ 
fore required, also make oath that he has not borne arms against the United States, or given 
aid and comfort to its enemies. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the provisions of the said homestead law, and 
the act amendatory thereof approved March twenty-first, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, 
so far as the same may be applicable, except so far as the same are modified by the preceding 
sections of this act, are applied to and made part of this act as fully as if herein enacted and 
set forth. 

Approved June 21, 1866. 







TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 


21 


Mr. 


( 1 .) 

Land Office at 
has this day paid 


18 


— dollars, the Register’s 
and Receiver’s fees, to file a Declaratory Statement, the receipt whereof 
is hereby acknowledged. 

--, Receiver. 

No.- 


Mr.---- having paid the fees, has this day filed in this 

office his Declaratory Statement, No.-, for-, section 

-> township-, of range-, containing-acres, 

settled upon-,18 , being-offered. 

-, Register. 


( 2 .) 

DECLARATORY STATEMENT FOR CASES WHERE 
LAND IS NOT SUBJECT TO PRIYATE ENTRY. 


of 


of- 

number 


being 


have, on the 


THE 


day 


A. D. 18 , settled and improved the 


quarter section 


-, in township number 


-, of range number 


and 


in the district of lands subject to sale at the land office at- 

containing-acres, which land has not yet been offered at public 

sale, and thus rendered subject to private entry; and I do hereby declare 
my intention to claim the said tract of land as a pre-emption right, under 
the provisions of said Act of 4th September, 1841. 

Given under my hand this-day of-, A. D. 18 . 

In presence of-. 


(3.) 

FOR CASES WHERE THE LAND CLAIMED SHALL HAVE 
BEEN RENDERED SUBJECT TO PRIYATE ENTRY SINCE 
THE DATE OF THE LAW. 


I, 


of- 


tion number 


in township number 


-, of-, being-, have, since the first day 

A. D. 18 , settled and improved the-quarter of sec- 

—, of range number 


-, in the district of lands subject to sale at the land office at ■ 


and containing 


acres, which land has been rendered subject to 


























































22 MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


private, entry since the passage of the Act of 4th September, 1841, but 
prior to my settlement thereon; and I do hereby declare my intention to 
claim the said tract of land as a pre emption right, under the provisions 
of said Act of 4th September, 1841. 

Given under my hand this-day of--, A. D. 18 

In presence of-. 


( 4 .) 

AFFIDAVIT REQUIRED OF PRE-EMPTION CLAIMANT. 

I,---, claiming the right of pre-emption under the pro¬ 

visions of the Act of Congress, entitled “ An Act to appropriate the pro¬ 
ceeds of the sale of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption rights,” 

approved September 4, 1841, to the-quarter of section number 

-~, of township number--, of range number-, subject 

to sale at-, do solemnly-that I have never had the benefit 

of any right of pre-emption under this act; that I am not the owner of 
three hundred and twenty acres of land in any State or Territory of the 
United States, nor have I settled upon and improved said land to sell the 
same on speculation, but in good faith to appropriate it to my own exclu¬ 
sive use or benefit; and that I have not, directly or indirectly, made 
any agreement or contract, in any way or manner, with any person or 
persons whomsoever, by which the title which 1 may acquire from the 
government of the United States should inure, in whole or in part, to the 
benefit of any person except myself. 

1,--, of the Land Office at-, do hereby certify 

that the above affidavit was taken and subscribed before me, this- 

day of-, A. D. 18 


( 5 .) 

We-,-, do solemnly swear that- 

-,-and is an inhabitant of the-quarter of section 

number -, of tqwnship number -, north of range number 

—-, and that no other person resided upon the said land, entitled to 

the right of pre-emption. That the said-, entered upon 









































TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS 


23 


and made a settlement in person on the said land since the_day of 

-, 18 , to wit: on the-day of-, 18 ,-and' has 


lived in the said house, and made it his exclusive home, from the 
day of , 18 , till the present time. That he did not remove from 


his own land within the State of 


— to make the settlement above 


referred to; and that he has since said settlement ploughed, fenced, 

and cultivated about-acres of said land. 

> do hereby certify that the above affidavit was taken 
and subscribed before me this-day of--, A. D. 18 


We certify that-, 

subscribed to the foregoing affidavit, 


whose name 


person — of respectability. 

-, Register. 

■---, Receiver. 


Application) 
No.- f 

I,- 


( 6 .) 

HOMESTEAD. 
Land Office at 


18 


of 


—, do hereby apply to enter, under the 
provisions of the Act of Congress approved May 20, 1862, entitled “ An 
Act to secure Homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain,” 
the-of section-, in township-, of range-, con¬ 

acres. 


taining 


Land Office at 


18 


I, 


-, Kegister of the Land Office, do hereby certify that 


the above application is for Surveyed Lands of the class which the appli¬ 
cant is legally entitled to enter under the Homestead Act of May 20, 
1862, and that there is no prior, valid, adverse right to the same. 

-, Register. 


{Affidavit.) 


(?•) 

HOMESTEAD. 

Land Office at 


{Date.) 


of — 


-, having filed my Application JSo. 


I,- 

for an entry under the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved 
May 20, 1862, entitled “ An Act to secure Homesteads to actual settlers 
on the public domain,” do solemnly swear, that [ Here state whether the 
























































24 MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


applicant is the head of a family, or over twenty-one years of age ; 
whether a citizen of the United States, or has filed his declaration of 
intention of becoming such ; or, if under twenty-one years of age, that 
he has served not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the 

United States during actual war ; that said Application No. - is 

made for his or her exclusive benefit; and that said entry is made for 
the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, directly or 
indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whom¬ 
soever, ,] and that I have not heretofore had the benefit of this Act. 


Sworn to and subscribed, this-day of-, before- 

[Register or Receiver ] of the Land Office. 


( 8 .) 

MILITARY OR NAVAL HOMESTEAD. 

Application | 

No.- S Land Office at-,-, 18 . 

I,- 1 -, of-, being in the-- service of the United 

States, do hereby apply to enter, under the provisions of the Act approved 
March 21,1864, amendatory of the Homestead Act of May 20,1862, and 
for other purposes, a certain tract of land, which-is hereby author¬ 

ized to designate at the foot of this application, as my Homestead, and 
which I agree to hold as my own selection. 


Attest:-, Commanding Officer at 


I,--, as named in the foregoing Application No.-, 

do designate the tract selected for his Homestead as the-of sec¬ 
tion -, in township-, of range -■, containing - 

acres, and on which there is bona fide improvement and settlement, and 
on which I am residing and in charge for said applicant. 

Witness my hand, this-day of-—, 18 . 


Attest:-, Register. 





































TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 25 


Land Office at-,-, 18 . 

Ij-, Register of the Land Office, do hereby certify that 

the above application is for Surveyed Lands of the class which the 
applicant is legally entitled to enter under the Homestead Act of May 
20, 1862, and that there is no prior, valid, adverse right to the same. 

-, Register. 


( 9 .) 

MILITARY OR NAVAL HOMESTEAD. 

Amendatory Homestead Act of March 21, 1864. 

AFFIDAVIT. 

State of- , County of — - , 

{Hate.) -. 

I,-r-, of-, being now in the [^military or naval 

service ] of the United States, and proposing to file my application, No. 

-, for an entry under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved 

March 21, 1864, amendatory of the original Homestead Act of May 20, 
1862, and for other purposes, do solemnly swear that [ Here state whether 
applicant is the head of a family, or over twenty-one years of age ; 
whether a citizen of the United States, or has filed his declaration of 
intention of becoming such ; or, if under twenty-one years of age, that 
he has served not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the 

United States during actual war ; that said, Application Ho. - is 

made for his or her exclusive benefit; and that said entry is made for 
the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, directly or 
indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whom¬ 
soever, ,] and that I have not heretofore had the benefit of this Act. 

I further swear that I have made bona fide settlement and improve¬ 
ment upon the tract which [here give name of representative'] is author¬ 
ized to designate as my Homestead. 


Sworn to and subscribed, this-day of-, before - 

-, U. S. Commanding Officer of-, at-. 

[Rank and service.] 

4 




























26 


MANNER OF PROCEEDING 


( 10 .) 

AFFIDAVIT—INDIAN HOMESTEAD OR PRE-EMPTION. 

I, --, formerly of the-tribe of Indians, do solemn¬ 

ly swear that I have voluntarily dissolved all connection with that tribe, 
and that it is bona fide my intention to forego all claim to or share in 
any of its annuities or benefits, and in good faith to perform the duties 
of a citizen of the United States. 


( 11 .) 

AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF INDIAN HOMESTEAD 
OR PRE-EMPTION. 

-,-, do solemnly swear that to the best 

of-knowledge and belief-, formerly of the --- 

tribe of Indians, has dissolved all connection with said tribe, and does 
not claim or share any of the annuities or benefits inuring to said tribe 
of Indians by treaty or otherwise, but is performing all such duties as 
pertain to a citizen of the United States. 


Witness:-. --- 

Sworn and subscribed to before me this-day of-, 18 


( 12 .) 

AFFIDAVIT. 

Land Office at-, 

{Date) -. 

Ij-of-, having filed my application No.-for 

an entry under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved May 20, 
1862, and desiring to avail myself of the 25th section of the Act of July 
15, 1870, in regard to land held at the double minimum price of $2 50 

per acre, do solemnly swear that I am the identical-who 

was a-in the company * commanded by captain-, 


*Where the party was a regimental or staff officer, or was in a different branch of the service, 
the affidavit must be varied in form according to the facts of the case. 










































TO OBTAIN TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS. 27 


in the-regiment of-, commanded by-, 

in the war of 1861; that I continued in actual service for ninety days, 

and have remained loyal to the government ; that said application No.- 

is made for my exclusive benefit, and for the purpose of actual settlement 
and cultivation, and not, directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any 
other person or persons, and that I have not heretofore had the benefit 
of the Homestead Law. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me this —— day of-. 


(.Register or :Receiver of the Land Office.) 


0 



















UNITED STATES LAND OFFICES. 


OHIO. 

Cliillicotlie. 

INDIANA. 

Indiauapolis. 

ILLINOIS. 

Springfield. 

MISSOURI. 

Bonneville, 

Ironton, 

Springfield. 

ALABAMA. 

Mobile, 

Huntsville, 

Montgomery. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

Jackson. 

LOUISIANA. 

New Orleans, 

Monroe, 

Natchitoches. 

MICHIGAN. 

Detroit, 

East Saginaw, 
Ionia, 

Marquette, 
Traverse City. 

ARKANSAS. 

Little Rock, 

W ashington, 
Clarksville. 

FLORIDA. 

Tallahassee. 


IOWA. 

Fort Des Moines, 
Council Bluffs, 

Fort Dodge, 

Sioux City. 

WISCONSIN. 

Menasha, 

Falls of St. Croix, 
Stevens Point, 

La Crosse, 

Bayfield, 

Eau Claire. 

CALIFORNIA. 

San Francisco, 
Marysville, 

Humboldt, 

Stockton, 

Visalia, 

Sacramento, 

Los Angeles. 

NEVADA. 

Carson City, 

Austin, 

Belmont, 

Aurora. 

WASHINGTON T. 

Olympia, 

Vancouver. 

MINNESOTA. 

Taylor’s Falls, 

St. Cloud, 

Du Luth, 

Alexandria, 

Jackson, 

New Ulm, 

Litchfield. 


OREGON. 

Oregon City, 
Roseburg, 

Le Grand. 

KANSAS. 

Topeka, 
Junction City, 
Humboldt, 
Augusta. 


NEBRASKA. 

West Point, 
Beatrice, 

Lincoln, 

Dakota City, 

Grand Island. 

NEW MEXICO T. 
Santa Fe. 

DAKOTA T. 

Vermillion, 

Springfield, 

Pembina. 

COLORADO T. 

Denver City, 

Fair Play, 

Central City. 

IDAHO T. 

Boise City, 
Lewiston. 

MONTANA T. 
Helena. 

ARIZONA T. 
Prescott. 

UTAH T. 
Salt Lake City. 

















LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ^ 


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